Leeds’ get four days as quartet offers £20m

TREVOR BIRCH has been granted a further four-day extension to a ‘standstill agreement’ with creditors as the Leeds chairman continues his attempts to find a buyer for the cash-strapped club.

It would appear Birch has satisfied the principal creditors, who are owed a combined stg£82 million, that a four-man, Yorkshire-based consortium are poised to take control of Leeds in a buy-out understood to be worth stg£20million.

Negotiations are at an advanced stage, and being conducted through a prominent firm of lawyers in Leeds, with the possibility a deal could now be finalised by the end of the week.

A statement to the Stock Exchange last night read: "The board of Leeds United plc announces that the standstill period with the Company's principal finance creditors has today been extended to 5pm on 30 January 2004.

"As previously announced, the standstill agreement also provides for a further extension to February 6, 2004, conditional on achievement of certain financial and other covenants."

The mystery consortium quartet have yet to reveal their hand, and are eager to retain their anonymity at this stage, although it is believed they are prominent members of the Jewish community in Leeds.

Former Bradford chairman Geoffrey Richmond has categorically ruled himself out of the running, stating his experiences at Valley Parade have left him scarred. The wealthy Ziff family, who are a leading force in the retail property sector with the development of the Merrion Centre in Leeds, while also running Stylo plc, who make shoes under the name Barratts, have also ruled themselves out.

Two names that have emerged are Terry Fisher, a staunch Leeds supporter who last year failed to take control of Huddersfield when they were in administration, along with Stuart Levin, the millionaire fundraiser of the Make A Dream children's charity.

Birch, though, has said: "constructive talks are continuing" with the consortium, putting on hold the recent dire need to raise a sum of between stg£3.5million and stg£5million to see the club through to the end of the season.

Supporters have been left frustrated by the groundless speculation which surrounded potential investment from former deputy chairman Allan Leighton and life-long fan Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Mubarak al-Khalifa.

At least they have been comforted by the fact the squad has not been broken up this transfer window, despite receiving bids for stars Alan Smith, Paul Robinson and James Milner, with Birch refusing to undermine the team's hopes of avoiding relegation.

But Birch was left stunned last Tuesday by the players' refusal to assist the club in its hour of need as they declined to take an initial 35% wage deferral, with the Professional Footballers' Association also snubbed when they suggested 30%.

In an effort to save as much money as possible, Birch has looked at the prospect of asking former managers David O'Leary, Terry Venables and Peter Reid to defer their severance payments following their dismissals, with all three confirming they would do so if approached.

The club have cancelled the contract of Brazil's World Cup winner Roque Junior, who arrived on a season-long loan from AC Milan at the start of the campaign, and tried to do so with another two on-loan players in Zoumana Camara and Didier Domi, only for the duo to refuse.

In the last few days, though, the local consortium have emerged as the front-runner and are apparently prepared to step in now, despite Leeds propping up the Premiership and uncertain as to which division they will be playing in next season.

That has long been the crux of Leeds' problems in failing to attract a buyer, for if they are relegated they will lose stg£20million to stg£25million in revenue.

But that would not appear to be a hurdle for the consortium quartet, who appear to be appeasing the needs of the creditors bondholders MetLife, Teachers, M&G, and player-leasing agents Registered European Football Finance.